According to an email from Tony Fiorella, the pantry was “created out of an urgency to provide food to low- and no-income pet owners who without this support may have no other alternative but to release or abandon their pet to find food.”

The pantry currently distributes over 1,000 pounds of dog and cat food to pet owners each month, according to organizer and volunteer Elvira Bellegoni.

People come from all over Lake and Cuyahoga counties and surrounding areas, according to Fiorella.

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“Through this program, we have seen a significant reduction in stray and abandoned pets showing up at registered caregiver colony feeding sites,” Fiorella said in the email.

Most of the food distributed by the pantry is donated by area pet stores, veterinarians, shelters and private individuals. The pantry is run by a group of five volunteers who pick up the food donations and then re bag the food into more manageable size bags, Bellegoni said.

The pantry is seeking assistance from businesses and vets in the area by hosting food drives, to collect dog and cat food.

Currently, Pooch Parlor, 33000 Vine St. in Willowick, and Pet Fix, 885 E 222nd St. in Euclid, are both holding food drives along with several area veterinarians.

Dog and cat food can be obtained from the Pet Food Pantry from 9 to 11 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of every month.

“We do distribution for pets at the same time Willow Praise has their produce distribution,” Bellegoni said. “So, a lot of people who pick up pet food are the same ones that pick up produce from the church.”

There is no residency restrictionists to use the Pet Food Pantry.

The pantry is currently seeking volunteers and donations of food or gift cards to local pet stores.

For more information on the pantry, volunteering or donating, contact Bellegoni at 440-520-4881 or bellegoni@sbcglobal.net.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was edited at 11:55 a.m., June 19, to correct a misspelled name.